@knux my friend who I let try out the WiiU was actually saying it beat the 360s online, and he's more of an Xbox fanboy

Until the Wii U and 3DS have an account based system that's not tied to one console or handheld, Nintendo is still going to be behind in terms of online.

So??? By summer?

i agree why does nintendo have to be so awkward in having your downloaded games tied to the console instead of our new nintendo ids ?? they wont do this because they want us to pay again

So??? By summer?

what nintendo are having downloaded games tied to the account not the console by summer ????

At least their inferior online is free and ad-free

↑ but you have no control over your purchases ... kinda annoying really

I don't work for free, nor do I expect anyone else too. I will buy my ultimate favorites again for the Wii U, and play the others I already own on the Wii.

This is true for all digital purchases. Don't believe me? Read the "Terms and Agreements" of every service

Either you just made up your friend, or you misunderstood what he said.

The Wii U's online lacks a wide range of social and online functions that both XBLA and the PS3 offer. There's no music or film services, and the only social network is a proprietary one. It ties accounts to the hardware. The game range is incredibly limited (to be expected since it's a new console, but still makes it hard to "beat" the 360s online at this present moment.

None of that is to say the Wii U won't have these features in the future (though Nintendo certainly lacks the capacity to develop music and film services, at least), but why pretend a spade is a fork?

@Bankai
Some of us like the WiiU's online service more than other consoles. I own both a 360 and a PS3. I don't like how microsoft charges for their online service and all i get in return is ads. I don't care about other services: music, video, espn, etc. The playstation store is extremely confusing, atleast last time i was on it which was like a year ago. I personally like the WiiU online. It is simple and it puts gaming first. I can play online with friends, I can find any game on the shop very easy and there are no real ads. I hope Nintendo doesn't change its online services too much, maybe more voice chat support such as party chat while in game.

I also love the Miiverse, I hope it gets integrated in more games.

There's a difference between personal opinion, and an objective concept of quality.

If you want to compare the three online services with anything more than "I personally prefer this service for this reason," then the only logical way to compare services is based on what it offers consumers.

The Wii U's online service offers the least functionality of the three consoles. That's a simple fact. Now, you might still prefer it and that's not wrong - people have different interests. But to suggest that there is some kind of objective measurement that puts the eShop on top is incorrect.

With regards to Hickey-guy above, no "Xbox fanboy" would say that the Wii U has a better online service than the 360. No more than a Nintendo fanboy would admit that the iPad is capable of games that rival, or top, the stuff that you get on the 3DS.

Saying something is better is nothing but personal opinion. No matter what services something offers there will be reasons why something else is better. Microsoft may offer the most to their customers but at what cost? While PSN offers similar things as Microsoft but without a price tag you still have other negatives. While Nintendo offers simple eShop Navigation and online play for free it is missing elements that the rivals have. There is no such thing as a clear "best" choice. everything is personal opinion. It is like saying Led Zeppelin has the best music ever, not everyone enjoys Led Zeppelin someone else may think The Beetles are the best.

I'm with @Bankai at this one. It's hard to objectively say that the Wii U online experience is on par with Sony's and Microsoft's.
However, there's going to be many gamers out there who don't care much about those other experiences. In terms of games alone, it's pretty hard to tell a difference between the services, at least when it comes to Call of Duty, which I've had the pleasure of trying out online with another person split-screen on all three systems (or in the Wii U's case, one on the pad and one on the TV). From what I can tell, there was no dicernable difference between 360 and Wii U's onine outside of the amount of players (which would likely effect the way it runs, so it's not very fair). On the PS3, there was a couple issues (getting knocked out of lobbies due to server errors twice), but that was at someone elses house, so that still isn't fair to the system. I'm hoping I can try out a real test sometime using several different games in one place, but even then it won't be fair because the amount of people using each service is going to differ.

Regardless, the online on all services functions. But the lack of a real account system really hurts Nintendo's position in the online space.

But that doesn't mean it affects the quality of a game, console, or any other source of entertainment for that matter. Sonic 06 is a horrible game from the pits of hell. Just because someone likes the piece of crap doesn't make it a good game. That person make think it's a good game, but it doesn't change the fact that the game is of horrible quality.

Nintendo's online is miles behind it's competitors. If you enjoy it or want to make yourself believe that it's better, then that's fine. A person's personal bias doesn't change the facts.

I will agree the account system does hurt as some people may need to replace their WiiUs or want to take their account to their friends house to keep progress continuing. Nintendo has stated they are working on that so as of right now that is another negative but the account thing does not bug me. I don't need to replace my WiiU and don't need to continue my progress when I am hanging out at a friends. So as it is a problem for some it does not effect me and it doesn't effect my reasoning why I personally think the WiiU online is better

@Knux
Again that is someone opinion. If someone out there likes that game then they like it. No matter what reviews and billions of other gamers say to that person Sonic 06 will be a good game. I enjoyed Shadowrun on Xbox 360. I know a lot of people hated that game but it will never change the fact that I think it was a very good game. It is all personal opinion

But what if your Wii U suddenly dies and you lost all of your downloaded games? There's always a chance it could happen.

Is there any specific reason why you think it's a better service?